


Shambles

by beforeiletgo



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Horror-esque, M/M, Road Trips, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beforeiletgo/pseuds/beforeiletgo
Summary: Sonic, Shadow and Tails are traveling the country roads for a weekend getaway to visit their good friend, Knuckles. They stop at a convenience store along the way but what they find is not convenient at all..
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 30
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, there. This is my first fan fic. Please leave kudos and comments for me. Please let me know what you think. If the format of this is off or something, sorry!-- this is my first rodeo after all.

A blue hand reached out towards the ancient radio system, twisting the volume knob to improve the sound. A love song jutted out of the speakers of the car, the lyrics drifting out of the open windows and into the wind.

_“If I’m dreaming, just let me sleep… don’t wake me up ‘til my dream is complete. If I’m dreaming, just leave me alone… turn off the lights and unplug the phone…”_

“Chaos, I haven’t heard this song in like… forever,” Sonic exclaimed as he leaned back in his seat, singing off key to the words. He waved his hands in his face in an effort to cool his self down. It was an oddly warm summer day after all and the open windows only helped so much.

On the driver’s side, Shadow let his ruby eyes glance off from the road and at his lover. “Hot?”

“Totally. I wish the air worked in this thing. Why did you have to go buy something that doesn’t even have working air?”

“Hedgehog, this is a classic car. I wasn’t planning on driving it today nor this far out from home but of course you wanted to travel in… what did you say? “style”, wasn’t it?”

The blue hedgehog scoffed and prepared his mouth for a snarky remark until a furry head popped up from the backseat. Tails was changing the film in his brand-new Polaroid camera, his hands busy with the trinket as he spoke. “Yeah, could you guys like just kiss already? You’ve been bickering since we left and it’s so unpleasant.”

Sonic glanced in the rear view mirror at Tails and smiled apologetically. The blue hog turned around in his seat to face him completely. “Sorry, bud. I’ll shut up then.” Sonic turned the music up again, just slightly, due to the sound competing with the rushing winds on the highway.

_“I can’t get over the fact that I’m with you… now that I have you, I don’t know what to do. If I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming ‘bout you… about the things that I like to do.”_

“Hey, Shads,” Sonic stated after only five seconds of saying he would be quiet. “I think we may need to stop soon. I’m kinda hungry and Tails drunk the last bottle of water we packed.”

“As soon as we come up on something, I will. And could you turn that down, please? It’s irritating my ears.”

“Pfft, fine whatever,” Sonic pouted as he adjusted the volume again. He stuck a hand out of the open window, watching as the wind ruffled his fur. When he got tired of staring at his hand, he glanced up and observed the evergreen trees on the side of the highway. A few moments passed until something in a clearing caught his eye. Something pink.

“What about there?” Sonic pointed towards the windshield. The slither of pink Sonic saw was the color of the roof of a little convenience store. Its roof was a rosy shade while the rest of the building was a faded patina green. It looked like it was straight out of the 50’s. “That’s a cute little store! And you can even fill up on gas! They have pumps.”

  
:::

Shadow turned off the two-lane road into the quaint parking lot. Everything about the establishment was charming except for a pack of crows that were perched atop the roof squawking loudly at their arrival. 

Sonic began unbuckling his seat eagerly, smiling back at Tails. “Come on, bud. Get your camera. This place has like, the perfect aesthetic. We can get some super cool photos out here.”

Shadow got out of the driver’s side and inspected the gas pump. “Hmph. Just as I expected, it doesn’t take cards. Here,” the hedgehog reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. He fumbled around with a few bills before sliding them across the roof of the car. “Ask for twenty on pump two.”

“Of course, babe.”

Tails got out the car and followed Sonic to the front of the building. The hedgehog took the sunglasses that were hanging on the front of his shirt and put them over his eyes. He smiled his big smile and placed a hand on a hip. “How does this look?” he said through the smile.

“Looks great. Hold it now,” Tails adjusted the lens on the camera, holding it up over one eye. The camera flashed and began to make a humming sound as it began to slowly push out the photograph. Tails handed the picture to Sonic. The hedgehog began to shake it back and forth in his hand in an effort to hurry the development process.

“I hope it looks good,” he stated as he used his other hand to pull on the store’s door. “Come on, let’s get some snacks.”

When the duo entered the establishment, they were greeted by not only a flush of cool air, but all kinds of vintage trinkets and objects propped on the shelves amongst assortments of candies. An antiquated gumball machine is what caught Sonic’s curious eye first. “Tails, look! This is rad! Think you could get another picture of me, huh?”

“Sonic,” the fox complained. “I thought we were gonna save the film as much as we can? I only bought so much. Stuff’s not cheap.”

“Oh, come onnnn! Look, I’ll buy you some more as soon as we make it to Knux’s. Just get this shot, please.”

Tails sighed before situating the camera in front of a blue eye for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Okay. Get ready.”

Sonic posed as if he was turning the machine’s knob to release candy into his outstretched hand.

“The gumball machine seems to attract everyone,” came a low voice from the front of the store.

The sound spooked the two, causing Tails to fumble the camera and snap a picture by accident. The store was dead silent for a moment, the only sound being the humming of the camera developing the failed photo.

“… you two included.” The voice finished as his green eyes flickered between the hedgehog and fox.

“Um, hi there,” Sonic greeted as he recovered from the surprise. He took his shades off and placed them next to the gumball machine to get a better look at who he was speaking to. “This is a nice place here. Yours?” The hedgehog asked as he gestured around with his hands.

“Why yes, it is.” The man was also a hedgehog, with dark fur and striped quills, similar to Shadow but much more brooding and uninviting. His eyes were a sickly green color and they were framed by heavy bags. His lips were so thin it looked like he almost didn’t have a mouth.

“You have a lot of nice things in here. I take it you collect?” Tails questioned as he hung the camera back around his neck by its strap.

“Oh yes… I’m an avid collector of old things,” his eyes roamed Sonic’s lithe form before his lips cracked into a small smile. “… and some new.”

“Well, I hope you didn’t mind us snapping pictures without your permission. I’m sorry we didn’t ask,” Tails added.

“Oh, no worries. It’s common… Now, is there something I can help you two with?”

“Oh, yeah! How did I forget so quickly?” Sonic chirped to his self. “Could you put twenty bucks on the pump out there. I think Shadow said it was pump two?” A blue hand slid the bills across the counter.

The man quickly glanced out of the windows of the store to the parking lot where he saw the black hedgehog leaning up against a shiny, candy apple red car. It was a sleek automobile that had to be several decades old. It was something out of an old Hollywood movie. “Your car is a beauty. She’s in such pristine condition.”

Sonic had been turned, looking over at Tails who was gathering several snacks off the shelves and putting them in a small grocery basket. “Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s my boyfriend’s.”

Tails approached the counter then and removed the assortment of snacks from the basket. The man ran the items up and completed the transactions for the food and the gas. After placing the last item in a plastic shopping bag, he caught eyes with Sonic. “Well, there you are. Safe travel.”

“Thanks! Take care, Mister…?”

“Mephiles.”

Sonic smiled brightly and nodded his head. “Mr. Mephiles, cool. See you and take care!”

“Yeah, take care sir,” Tails chirped as he followed Sonic out of the store.

“Of course.” Mephiles said to himself after the two had already trotted back to their car. The man eerily watched as they entered the automobile and sped off down the highway as soon as they had finished fueling the car up. Mephiles’ eyes scanned the area outside once more before making way to the back of the store to… finish a few activities that were interrupted when Sonic and Tails had come in.

:::

“Shads, you should’ve gone inside! It was so cool. He had like all this vintage stuff,” Sonic said with a mouth full of potato chips. “and he complimented your car, by the way.”

“Well, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who appreciates the finer things in life… even if they are a bit outdated.”

“Hey! I never said I didn’t appreciate the car, Shads. I mean, I love it. I just wish it had working air conditioning. That’s all,” Sonic finished with a wink.

“Whatever. Just give me another chip.”

Sonic plucked a chip from his bag and leaned over the middle console. He teasingly waved the chip in front of Shadow’s mouth before finally allowing the brooding hedgehog to snap it away with his teeth. “Tease.”

“Always, but that’s why you love me.”

Shadow replied with only a “hmph”. He focused back on the road in front. The sun was directly in front of them, beaming in through the windshield. The glare was so intense, Shadow had to strain his eyes to make out the yellow line that separates the two lanes of the highway from each other. “Faker, can I use those sunglasses of yours? This glare is distracting.”

“Of course!” Sonic chirped as he felt around the front of his shirt where he was sure the glasses would be hanging. “That’s weird,” he murmured as his hands met nothing but the cloth of his t-shirt. He reached to his head and felt between his ears to see if they were perched up there. They weren’t. “I can’t find my glasses. Tails, are they back there with you?”

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t see them,” Tails said through a mouthful of gummy bears.

“Chaos!”

“What?” Shadow questioned at the blue hedgehog’s outburst.

“I left them back at the store! I took them off and put them next to the… gumball machine? Could you please go back so I can get them! Pleeeeeeeease!”

“Hedgehog! You can never seem to keep up with your things! Now I have to backtrack and fall behind on our time schedule!”

“I know and I’m sorry, Shads! But you know how much those glasses mean to me. Amy got me those!” He finished with a cute pout that Shadow could never say no to.

“Fine, I’ll go back. But only because we didn’t make it too far up the road before you seemed to notice they were gone!”

“You’re the best!” Sonic yelped before leaning over the console to peck Shadow’s muzzle.

:::

Some time later, Shadow pulled back into the parking lot of the convenience store. This was the first time Sonic actually noticed the store’s sign standing tall out by the road. It read, “Meph’s Stop and Shop”.

Shadow pulled right in front and kept the car running. “Alright. Go in and make it quick.”

“’Kay,” Sonic replied as he got out and speed walked to the entrance. He opened the door and was met right away with his sunglasses. True enough they were still there, untouched, next to the gumball machine.

“Cool,” he stated, relieved, as he plucked them off the shelf and hung them on his shirt. He casually glanced up at the front of the store to see if Mephiles was still around. He wasn’t. Sonic shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave but was stopped short when he heard loud banging coming from the far end of the store, the part that lead into the back where he was sure there was some sort of bathroom or stock room. The loud banging continued and curiosity got the best of the hedgehog, he hated to admit. He looked back out the door at their car, where he was positive Shadow might’ve already been complaining at how long it was taking. Sonic dismissed that thought. For all he knew, Mephiles could’ve fell and hurt his self back there or something. And Sonic was way too selfless to just walk away. 

“Mr. Mephiles! Are you okay back there?”

No response.

Sonic eased more towards the back of the store ‘til he found himself walking down a dimly lit hallway. At the end of the hall, there was a door that was slightly ajar. The blue hedgehog kept quiet as his ears picked up on other sounds that sounded like something wet hitting a hard surface, but Sonic wasn’t so sure. Approaching the door, he quietly poked at it with his index finger, which caused the door to part and slowly reveal a deadly sight that Sonic was sure would scar him for the rest of his life.

The first thing his emerald green eyes caught was a bloodied meat cleaver that was lodged into the wood of a cutting board. To the right of that was Mephiles hunched over the body of a grey hedgehog who was split and cut open, almost as if an autopsy was taking place. There was a string of intestines hanging out of Mephiles mouth that was covered in blood and other bodily fluids. His hands were covered up to the wrist with crimson and he moved them around in the dead hedgehog’s body in search of more meat. He would pick up bloodied insides, inspect them, and then chuck them back into the carcass with a displeased frown on his face. 

A sharp gasp left Sonic’s mouth and before he could do anything else, sickly green eyes met his in a glare so fierce that it froze the blue hedgehog where he stood. Mephiles slurped up the remainder of intestine into his mouth and started to move threateningly around the table towards Sonic. Instead of picking up the meat cleaver, Mephiles picked up a short, pocketknife that was sharpened to a point. He growled as he advanced on Sonic. The younger hedgehog started backing out the room quickly before finally turning around and running for his life down the dark hallway. He ran as fast as he could towards the light that was pouring into the hallway from where the main part of the store was.

“Come here, you little nosy bastard!” Mephiles barked as he slashed at the air with his pocket knife out of pure anger. When Sonic reached the front of the store, he grabbed a hold of a snack rack and slung it as hard as he could towards the back of him where Mephiles was closing in at. The man let out a sharp whine of pain at being hit with the rack before tumbling to the ground. As he fell, he slashed with his knife again, hoping to catch Sonic’s skin in some way. Instead, his knife ran across a bag of chips that were on the bottom shelf of another rack, which resulted in potato chips littering the linoleum floor. Sonic looked back over his shoulder at Mephiles struggling to get a hold of his knife as he burst through the store’s entrance.


	2. Chapter 2

Sonic scurried into the car and fumbled with the door, trying to lock it as fast as he could. He crawled across the center console and reached over Shadow to lock the driver’s side as well. He was yelling in hysterics that Shadow nor Tails could make sense of.

“Chaos! What the hell are you saying?” Shadow questioned.

“Drive! Just go, now! Before he comes out here!”

“Who, Sonic? Slow down and tell us what’s wrong!” Tails added. He was propped up on his knees, leaning over into the front seat to get a good look at the frazzled blue hedgehog. Tails’ ears were erect and his eyes were blown wide at the sight.

“The owner! That guy Mephiles! I walked in on him… on him eating… _!_

“Eating what?!”

“A Mobian! A person, for Chaos’ sake!”

Shadow nor Tails had the time to say anything in response because at that very moment, the front door to the store was kicked wide open. Mephiles ran towards the car with his hand raised, the pocketknife firmly in his grip. He swung and stabbed at the windshield, causing it to crack after his knife made contact with it.

“Drive away, Shadow! Get us out of here! NOW!” Sonic screamed.

Shadow threw the car in reverse and started backing out in a matter of seconds. He switched the gear into drive and accelerated straightforward, unintentionally hitting and dragging Mephiles a few feet with the car before the man fell back onto the pebbled asphalt of the parking lot. Mephiles reacted quickly as he lunged forward, stabbing his knife at one of the car’s back tires. A sharp wheeze of air shot out of the rubber at the action.

“They won’t get very far,” Mephiles quipped as he staggered to stand. He watched as the car sped off down the two-lane road with a deep frown etched on his muzzle.

:::

For a while, no one spoke. The only sounds to be heard was the rushing wind coming in and out of the windows, the sound of the car’s engine as Shadow gunned it, and the punctured tire making a lugging sound as it struggled to roll straight. Tails was in a complete disarray and his mouth moved to speak words several times but failed to actually do so.

“Sonic,” Shadow spoke eerily quiet. “What the hell was that?”

“He was eating someone, Shadow… just picking at the body. I mean, he had the person cut open from all sorts of angles. I-I ran, and he chased me. It happened so fast!” Sonic explained as he buried his face in his hands.

“The bastard stabbed one of the tires. I don’t know how long this car is going to make it like this… we’re going to have to stop at some point.”

“What? No! He could be waiting for us! To come finish us!”

“Well, what the hell do you want me to do, hedgehog?! There’s nothing on this blasted road, it’s not like I can stop and get it changed! I don’t have a spare!”

“Guys,” Tails whimpered. “Just stop! Please!”

Sonic closed his eyes and worked to collect himself with a deep breath in and out. When he felt like he could speak again, he turned back towards Shadow. “Just… just stop at the next place. We need to phone Knuckles and see if he can come get us, and I need to call the police and tell them that someone is dead!”

:::

About half an hour later, the trio found themselves seated inside of a small eatery that was sparsely crowded. Shadow and Tails sat off in a corner booth and watched as Sonic held a conversation over a payphone.

“Hill County Police.”

“Uh, y-yes. I’m, um, actually calling to report a killing.”

“A killing? In these parts?” The voice questioned, suddenly alert. “What’s your name? What’s the location? Are you still at the scene?”

“My name is Sonic. And um, no I’m not. I left the scene,” Sonic briefly closed his eyes in an attempt to concentrate. “The location is out on the main highway. 377 highway.”

“Where about? The highway runs through the county. I need to know the specifics. I need a location name, address…”

“It was at Meph’s Stop And Shop. It’s a small convenience store-”

“Mephiles’ place? Oh, Chaos. Did someone hurt Mr. Mephiles?”

“What? No! He’s the one who has committed the crime! He has killed someone!”

A few seconds passed with no response. Sonic had thought maybe the line went dead.

“Um, are you still there? Hello?” Sonic asked as he pressed the phone closer to his ear.

“…I don’t know about that, I think you’re mistaken, kid.”

“What? What do you mean I’m mistaken? I know what I saw, and it was him standing over a dead body and… he was eating it! He was eating a person!”

“Are you sure? In all seriousness?” The voice questioned in disbelief. “Kid, I don’t know if this is a silly prank or what but Mephiles is well known in these parts. He’s been in this county for close to twenty years and is very active in this community, as small as it is. This is a highly respected man we’re talking about here and… let me get this right, you’re saying Mephiles was eating another person? As in committing the crime of cannibalism?”

“Yes! It may be hard to believe to you, sure, but I know what I saw!”

“Look,’ the voice quipped. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll go down to Mephiles’ place and have a little conversation with him but I’m sure this is all a bit of a misunderstanding.”

Sonic shook his head as if the person on the other line could see the action. “So, you’re not going to arrest him?!”

“That’s not my intention, no. If there is no evidence, then I can only write this off as hearsay. I can promise you I’ll go down and take a look but-“

“You know what? Just forget about it,” Sonic spat as he slammed the phone back on its hook. He made his way back across the diner where he plopped down next to Shadow. He rested his elbows on the booth’s table as he rubbed at his temples.

“Well? What did they say? Are they going to do something? Do they want you to come in for further questioning?” Shadow asked as he looked Sonic over with concern.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. They don’t even believe me, Shads,” Sonic replied in a cracked voice.

Shadow stood up from table in haste, frustration written all over his face. He made a beeline towards the payphone.

“Where are you going, Shads?”

“I’m going to make a call,” he said over his shoulder.

Sonic lifted his head and looked across the booth at Tails. The fox’s eyes were glued to a television that hung in the corner of the diner. Sonic could tell that he wasn’t actually watching what it was playing but rather staring at it for some sort of distraction from the situation at hand.

“Are… are you okay, bud? I know it’s a stupid question.”

Tails shook his head, finally making eye contact with the hedgehog. “No, it’s okay, but I’m not fine, Sonic. I’m scared. What if he comes back for us? Do you think he will?”

“I don’t know,” Sonic replied. He tried to smile apologetically to ease the tension but failed miserably. “But if he does, I promise that I won’t let him touch a hair on your furry head, okay?”

“…Okay.”

The familiar chime of the news channel’s theme music came from the television at that moment. The screen showed a female cat, who stood with a microphone. “Right now, I am bringing an important update to the disappearance of a young man who went missing last week by the name of Silver T. Hedgehog. Silver is a student at North Square University which is located in the heart of Station Square. Silver is a twenty-year-old male, grey furred and is of the hedgehog species. He was last seen by his roommate Finn, who says that the hedgehog left their dorm last Wednesday afternoon on his way to a book signing event. The book signing was held in Emerald City, only thirty-five miles away. Authorities are unsure if Silver went missing on his way to Emerald City or from. If there is anyone out there who knows anything, please do not hesitate to call the station.” The screen flashed to a photo of a smiling, grey hedgehog then and Sonic’s eyes grew wide as saucers.

“Oh my word…”

“What is it, Sonic?”

“I think…I think that’s the guy. The guy Mephiles-“

“Are you sure?” Tails questioned.

Sonic nodded his head quickly. “Y-yeah. In fact, I’m positive.”

:::

“Just great. Absolutely great”, Mephiles muttered sarcastically to himself as he wrapped Silver’s remains in plastic. “All of this meat just gone to waste because that damned hedgehog stuck his nose where it had no business.”

After the incident in the parking lot, Mephiles quickly made his way back into the store. He hastily cut Silver’s body up in several pieces, and now he was working to put it out of sight.

“I’m sure he alerted the authorities, that little worm. Now I must put on a nice face and charm them away from here… When they leave, I’ll have to do away with this. It’s already been frozen and thawed out once, I can’t refreeze it again. It will surely lose its freshness.”

Mephiles walked across the room to open the door of a deep freezer. The freezer had old, faded stickers of different ice cream pops on it. He placed the wrapped pieces inside one at a time, situating them so they all laid flat at the freezer’s bottom. “Thank Chaos for this, though. I knew it would come in handy one of these days, I just never thought it would be today… and that blue hedgehog will be very sorry after this. I _will_ track him down… and hopefully he’ll taste as good as he looks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you'd like. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there. I want to thank you all for reading this. I often time do feel a little discouraged about continuing this story because it's not getting that much attention. I feel maybe this genre isn't for everyone (most people like the fluffy stuff and so do I) but there's only one chapter left. Enjoy!

Sonic started panicking even more as he stared at the digital image of the missing hedgehog. “We… we really need to get out of here,” he murmured to himself.

Shadow approached their table at that time, his face was slightly relived of the tension that was apparent before. “Knuckles is on his way. He’s going to send a tow truck for the car.”

“How long did he say? Until he’ll be here?”

“About an hour.”

Sonic nodded his head somberly, wrapping his arms around his own body. “…Okay.”

:::

Mephiles busied himself with cleaning up the mess Sonic had made in his store during their struggle. He set the fallen rack back up and replaced the damaged snacks with new ones from his stockroom.

“What an inconvenience,” Mephiles stated as he grabbed a broom to sweep up potato chips. He could feel himself getting angry all over again as he recollected the incident. It was replaying itself in his head over and over like a bad movie.

“Knock, knock.”

Mephiles looked up to find two of the local policemen entering the store. It was the big crocodile, the one that Mephiles found overtly annoying but harmless, nonetheless and his counterpart, a guarded chameleon.

“Vector, what a pleasure. I haven’t seen you since last week. You look well,” Mephiles charmed. 

The croc took off his policeman cap and smiled gingerly. “Likewise, sir.”

“Is there anything I can help you and Espio with? I can ring you up a couple of cold beverages. It’s a hot one today.”

“That’d be nice, thank you,” the croc replied.

Mephiles placed the broom aside to wait on Vector and Espio. He moved toward the refrigerated doors, grabbing two of the strawberry flavored pops the crocodile always went for when he visited. As the hedgehog made way back to the front counter, he could feel the chameleon’s steely eyes watching his every move. The tension coming from Espio was so thick it could’ve been cut with a knife.

“You know, we got a call today at the station. Something about a killing,” Vector started.

“Oh, Chaos. Where about did it happen?”

“Apparently right here,” quipped the chameleon.

“In my store?”

A nod. “And that’s actually why we’re here. We’ve come to make our rounds and take a look.”

“Would that be okay, Mr. Mephiles?”

The chameleon scoffed at Vector’s question. “Of course, it is. Come on, Vec.” Espio took it upon his self to start the search. He quickly exited from the main part of the store and started down the hallway. “I’ll check the office and bathrooms. You check the stockroom.”

Mephiles closely followed Vector. He could care less about the chameleon snooping his bathrooms and office, because he knew he would find nothing. But the stockroom… that’s where the freezer was.

“I’m really sorry about this, Mr. Mephiles. It’s just Espio is my superior and- “

Mephiles smiled. “You don’t have to explain. I understand. You’re just doing your job.”

Vector slowly made his way around the room, closely inspecting surfaces and checking around the windows. “You keep it pretty clean in here.”

“Oh, yes. I’m a bit of a germaphobe. I was just cleaning and straightening up when you two arrived.”

“Interesting,” the chameleon commented as he waltzed into the room at that moment. “Well the bathrooms and the office are all clear.”

“As it should be.”

Espio deadpanned at the statement Mephiles made before making his way around the stockroom, looking over everything Vector had. Mephiles had no concerns whatsoever about them finding anything until Espio stopped his steps right in front of the freezer.

“What’s this doing back here? Shouldn’t this be in the front, where the actual store is?”

“No, it shouldn’t be. I use this freezer to store and preserve many other products. Not just ice creams.”

“It looks long enough to store some other things as well. Perhaps a body?”

“What are you implying, officer?”

“I’m not implying anything… not until I see what’s inside. Open it for me.”

“Espio,” Vector chided. “Come on, the place is clean. There’s no need to further pick at the situation.”

The chameleon shook his head and stood his ground. “No, I want to see what’s inside the freezer.”

Mephiles stuck his hand in his pocket and fiddled with his pocketknife. He really didn’t want to have to kill these two, but it appeared he’d just might have to. “…Okay, officer. I’ll open it.” Mephiles discreetly took the knife out of his pocket and held it tightly in his hand. He walked over to the freezer, preparing to open it and his knife at the same time.

“Esp, we have a code 904M down by the old barn. Need you and Vector to go down and check on it, immediately,” stated a static distorted voice.

Espio kept his eyes on Mephiles as he unlatched a radio from his belt. “A grass fire?”

“Yeah, the elderly woman who lives next door to it called and said she saw a couple of kids messing around with fireworks. Go down and check it out,” the person on the line reiterated.

Vector sighed in relief. “Come on, Esp. We’ve gotta go.”

Espio held eye contact with Mephiles for a few more seconds before finally giving in. “…Fine.”

Mephiles followed the two out of the store, bidding them a good night. He watched as they got into their car, set the police siren off and sped away.

“Bastards,” Mephiles commented to his self as he made way to his cash register. He took a hold of the two drinks he had got for the policemen and put them back into the refrigerators. He scoffed at the fact that they never had the intentions of wanting to buy anything. They just wanted to observe him and look for some type of evidence.

Mephiles marched back into his stockroom, preparing to close the store for the evening. “That’s the second time that annoying croc has caught me slipping,” he said to himself. And he was right. It was just last week that Mephiles had got the burning desire to feed... on a Mobian. He hadn’t craved another’s flesh in a while but when that grey hedgehog came waltzing in his store last Wednesday evening… he couldn’t help his self.

_The only noise to be heard in the empty store was the sound of a highlighter squeaking as it was moved across the surface of a piece of paper. Mephiles had been passing the hours away with his trusty crossword puzzles as he heard the door to his store open. In walked a grey hedgehog, who looked to be in either his late teens or early twenties. He had big amber colored eyes and a lean build. On his back was an unzipped bookbag. He moved quietly around the store for a few minutes, collecting a beverage and a chocolate bar. As he was making his way to the checkout counter, something caught his eyes and he stopped in his tracks._

_“Gods, this is amazing,” commented the young hedgehog as his thin fingers moved across the glass sphere of the gumball machine. He marveled at it awhile before proceeding to walk to the counter._

_Mephiles’ eyes roamed the young man’s body as he approached. Those green eyes of his caressed up and down the young man’s legs, which were being hugged tightly by a pair of jeans. “The gumball machine seems to attract everyone,” he offered aloud._

_The hedgehog looked up at Mephiles, a sweet smile on his face. “It’s beautiful. I’ve been looking for one of those for months! I really wanted one for my dorm, but no one was selling them locally.”_

_“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Mephiles stated as he rung up the soda pop and candy bar. “Mine isn’t for sale either.”_

_“Aw,” Silver’s face fell at the comment but brightened a second later at Mephiles’ next words._

_“But I do have another one similar to it in the back. In my office. It’s not as big as the one out here but it’s no less special… that one may be for sale.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Sure,” Mephiles replied as he bagged the two items. “If you’d like I can show it to you. That way you can see if you want to buy it?”_

_“Wow, I’d really like that Mister.”_

_“Just call me Mephiles.”_

_“Okay, Mephiles,” the hedgehog replied, curious to try the name out on his tongue. “My name is Silver, by the way.”_

_“Well, follow me Silver.”_

_Mephiles smiled discreetly at how easy it was to successfully lure Silver away from the store’s entrance. He led the young hedgehog into his office where he began to open a closet in its far corner. Silver watched anxiously, excited to have finally found a gumball machine he could buy. He was thinking of where he wanted to put the trinket in his dorm as Mephiles continued to rummage around the closet’s floor._

_“Ah, there you are,” Silver heard Mephiles murmur to himself as he moved to pick something up._

_“Found it?” Silver asked as he stepped a little closer to Mephiles’ turned back._

_“Yes.”_

_“Well,” the hedgehog smiled. “Can I see it?”_

_“Sure. Here you go,” Mephiles replied as he quickly raised from his crouched position. In his hand was a brick that he forcefully struck Silver with to the side of his head. Silver fell to the ground instantly. A few silent seconds passed and Mephiles thought the job was done until his ears were assaulted with loud, frantic screaming._

_Mephiles’ tempered flared. That blow alone should’ve made the hedgehog go unconscious. But since it didn’t, things had to get messy._

_Mephiles watched as Silver tried to crawl his way out of the room. The hedgehog’s face and quills were bloodied, and he cried loudly. “Help me! Someone! PLEASE!”_

_Mephiles caught ahold of Silver’s legs and worked to pull him back into the room. The younger hedgehog used all of his strength and kicked, throwing Mephiles against the wall. It was a good effort, but it wasn’t enough. Mephiles picked up his dropped brick and advanced on the crawling Silver yet again. He raised the object in his hand and brought it down repeatedly on Silver’s head until the hedgehog stilled and his cries abruptly ended._

:::

Mephiles shook his head at the recollection. He hated that it had to be so violent. That first hit should’ve been it but sometimes things don’t go as planned. What made it even worse was how careless he was at removing evidence of Silver being there. 

_Vector had just finished patrolling the highway when he thought to stop at Mephiles’ store. It was a warm day and a cold bottle of soda would do the trick. Vector entered the store to find Mephiles behind the front counter as usual._

_“Howdy.”_

_Mephiles looked up from his crossword puzzle and smiled a tiny smile. “Afternoon, Vector. How are you?”_

_“I’m fine. How about yourself?”_

_“I’m doing well.”_

_“Good,” Vector replied as he made his way to the back of the store to the refrigerator doors. He opened one of them and plucked a bottle of soda off a shelf. He made his way back to the front counter where he slid the beverage across its surface._

_Mephiles closed his crossword booklet. “Is this all?”_

_“Yeah, just this strawberry pop and maybe a couple of those lottery tickets.”_

_Mephiles nodded and turned around to get the specific kind he knew the croc liked to buy. As his back was turned, Vector’s eyes glanced across the counter. His reptilian gaze landed on a book. The cover art depicted a fire breathing dragon wrapped around the surreal colored stream of a waterfall. The title of the book read, “The Cave and the Coven.”_

_“Mr. Mephiles, I didn’t know you were into fantasy novels. My younger brother Charmy reads from this series.”_

_Mephiles turned around with the tickets in hand, ringing them up and then placing them in a plastic bag along with the soda pop. “Oh, yes. I love to read from all sorts of genres.”_

_“Really?” Vector asked in curiosity. He pointed at the book. “May I?”_

_“Sure.”_

_Vector picked up the book and began flipping its pages. “I could never get into this type of stuff back when I was in school. Reading always seemed like a bore to me. I guess I’ve always been the athletic type.” The croc stops once he began to read the writing on the inside cover. It read:_

_**To Sil and his beautiful smile,** _

**_Thank you so much for reading my books! The support from you and others have pushed me to continue this series and for that I am forever grateful._ **

**_Best Wishes! ~ Wave T. Swallow_ _♥_**

_“...Who’s Sil?”_

_“Pardon?” Mephiles questioned, eye ridge raised._

_“It’s just that this book is made out to someone named Sil."_

_“Oh, that’s my nephew’s name. The book came highly recommended from him and he let me borrow his personal copy. He just couldn’t wait for me to read it so that we could talk about it together.”_

Mephiles was thankful the gullible croc believed the story. Whenever Vector came in the store now, he would ask Mephiles about his imaginary nephew. It was just plain silly.

“Enough reminiscing about the past,” Mephiles stated to himself as he began sharpening one of his butcher’s knives with a sharpening stone. “I’ve got some important business to attend to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you wanna.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! This chapter is a long one! Enjoy please (:

After Mephiles locked the store up for the night, he made his way down the country highway road towards his home. As he drove, he contemplated just how he was going to track down Sonic. He knew nothing about the hedgehog or his friends.

“I don’t know where they could have gone... They have got to be in this county or at least the neighboring counties. I damaged the tire well enough to hinder their travel,” Mephiles said to himself.

Mephiles continued down the road, making up in his mind that he would drive through the county in search before retiring to his home. About thirty minutes down the road, something red caught his eye on the side of the highway. The hedgehog pressed on his brakes, slowing the car down to examine what he’d thought he’d seen. In the parking lot of Thorndyke Diner was a candy apple red car that Mephiles would never be able to forget.

“Well why won’t you look at that… I didn’t think it would be this simple,” Mephiles quipped as he turned into the diner’s pebbled parking lot.

The hedgehog pulled up next to the car and parked. He sat there for several minutes, just looking into the windows of the diner to see if he could spot Sonic, Shadow, or Tails. After coming to the realization that the trio wasn’t in the diner at all, Mephiles took off his seatbelt and removed his self from his vehicle. He was going to get answers one way or another.

:::

“What can I get for you, Mr. Mephiles?”

“Just the usual, Sally,” the hedgehog replied as he took a seat on the tall barstools at the front counter.

“Alrighty. Coming right up,” the chipmunk chirped as she penned the order on a notepad. She hurried back into the kitchen to pass on the order to the cooks.

As his meal was being prepared, Mephiles glanced around the diner to find that he was the only customer. The other few cars out front must’ve all belonged to the workers.

“That’s a nice automobile out there,” Mephiles remarked in Sally’s direction as she made way to the register. “The red one.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s real nice. My pa had one just like it when I was a little girl.”

“Do you know who it belongs to?”

Sally nodded her head. “Yeah, there were three guys that came in earlier today. Said they were having car trouble and if it was okay to leave the car here because a tow would be coming for it tonight,” the chipmunk looked at her wrist, turning her watch face up to check the time. “Should be showing up any minute now.”

“Oh, how unfortunate… Well, I hope they made it to where they needed to go safely.”

“I believe they did. They stayed over in the back booths for a while until a guy came and picked them up. The trio looked pretty relieved when they saw him… He was a muscular guy, their friend. Kinda big in the shoulders.”

“Hmm… know where they were headed?”

“Didn’t say,” Sally replied with a smile. “Let me go check on your order.”

Mephiles watched as Sally went back into the kitchen. Everyone in the county had a way of telling other people’s business if you let them talk long enough… and Sally did just that. She gave Mephiles all the information he needed to know.

“Here you are.”

The hedgehog looked up to find the chipmunk placing a plate down on the counter. The food was nice and hot. “Smothered liver and onions. Mashed potatoes with gravy,” she commented. “Can I get a drink for you?”

“Just a cola.”

A while later, as Mephiles neared the end of his meal, sure enough there was a tow truck pulling into the parking lot of the diner. He watched as the driver got out of the truck and started the towing procedure. Brackets were fitted on the front and back wheels of the car to be lifted easily onto the back of the truck bed. The process lasted a few minutes before the truck pulled out of the parking lot, Shadow’s car in tow. During this time, Mephiles wolfed his food down as discreetly as he could. He hadn’t wanted Sally to notice and began to get suspicious.

“Well, Sally it was nice seeing you. I’m going to head on home. Thank you for the hot meal,” Mephiles stated as he placed a few bills on the counter.

“Alrighty. Have a good night, Mr. Mephiles.”

“Likewise.”

Mephiles speed walked to his car, starting it up as soon as he got in. He pulled out of the lot and followed the tow truck’s lights down the country roads. He made sure to put a good distance between he and the truck. He didn’t need for the driver to know he was being followed.

:::

“Sonic… I really hate that this happened to you guys. In a way I feel responsible. If we just would’ve gotten together last week as originally planned… I mean, none of this would have happened.”

“Knux, come on. Don’t do that. It’s totally not your fault… it’s none of our faults. It’s just a messed up situation that we had no control over,” Sonic replied as he shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

They had been at Knuckles’ house for a couple of hours. The echidna had rushed to pick them up from the diner when Shadow brought him up to speed on the situation.

“… Alright. Well, I’m gonna head upstairs, get you guys some blankets and pillows for the night.”

“That would be nice, thanks Knux.”

“Hey, don’t mention it,” the echidna replied as he excused himself from the dining room.

Sonic was left in silence for a while until he felt a pair of familiar, warm hands massaging his shoulders.

“How are you feeling?”

The blue hedgehog titled his head back to find Shadow staring down at him. “I’m spooked, Shadow. I mean, all I’ve been able to think about is that poor guy… Silver. I just wish it was morning, you know? So that I can call the news station and inform them on what happened to him… I feel kinda useless sitting here knowing what I know and not being able to do anything about it.”

“You’re not useless, Sonic. You’ve done all you could do given the circumstances. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Yeah? But what about Tails? I’ve been so worried about him,” Sonic replied as he glanced over to the sleeping fox curled up on Knuckles’ couch.

Shadow sat down next to Sonic then. He reached over and stroked the hedgehog’s cheek. “You know Tails, he’s okay if you’re okay. But Sonic it’s okay to not be. We’ve all been through a lot today, but I know that with everything that has happened, you’re affected the most because you’ve seen things that Tails and I have not. Just know that however you feel… I’ll be here.”

Sonic placed his hand over Shadow’s and smiled a small smile. “I love you, Shads.”

“I love you too, hedgehog.”

Knuckles came down the stairs in that moment, pillows and blankets in his arms. “Tow truck’s here,” he commented as he placed the heap on the couch.

“Alright. I’m going to go and get our bags out of the car. I’ll be right back,” Shadow informed Sonic as he made way out of the front door.

:::

Mephiles had followed the tow truck across town. He became a bit eager when the truck led him through a neighborhood. The hedgehog couldn’t help the slither of satisfaction that ran over him when he parked on the side of the street and watched as Shadow emerged from a home, the black hedgehog watching as the tow truck lowered his car into the driveway.

“I knew you’d lead me somewhere helpful, but I didn’t think you’d lead me right where I needed to be,” Mephiles commented to his self.

His acid green eyes watched on curiously as Knuckles followed Shadow out of the home, helping him retrieve bags and suitcases from the trunk of the red car. The echidna then went over to the driver’s side of the tow truck. Mephiles assumed he was thanking and paying the driver for his services. After a minute or two, the tow truck pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street. Knuckles made his way back into the house while Shadow continued to rummage through his car.

Mephiles opened his glove box and retrieved his butcher’s knife. He very silently but quickly removed himself from his car and crossed the street. As he closely neared Shadow, he raised the knife in his hand in preparation.

“Can I give you a hand?”

Shadow turned around with the quickness but before he could react to the situation, Mephiles stuck the butcher’s knife in Shadow’s midsection and left it.

“Come here, bastard,” Mephiles seethed as he grabbed Shadow by the collar of his shirt and drug him across the yard. Shadow could only moan in pain as he was pulled and then dumped into the bushes on the side of Knuckles’ house. Mephiles stood back and looked Shadow over, concluding that the younger hedgehog was in pretty bad shape. Satisfied, he left Shadow’s side and pulled his trusty pocketknife out of his pocket.

:::

Knuckles had been covering Tails’ sleeping body with a blanket when knocks came at his door. “Crap, I must’ve locked Shadow out.”

When he opened it, he was met with Mephiles’ cold, blank stare.

“Uh, can I help you sir?”

The wordless response Knuckles was given was a quick movement of the man’s hand and a sudden sharp pain to one of his spines.

“What the hell?!” Knuckles shouted as he gripped the sliced appendage.

“Hmm... I’ve never had echidna. Tastes kinda... sweet?” Mephiles stated as he took his bloodied knife and carefully placed the tip in his mouth. “Is sweet the right word, though?”

He spread Knuckles’ blood around his mouth some more by quick movements of his tongue.

By this time, Knuckles’ shout had woken Tails and caught the attention of Sonic. The room was dead silent and Mephiles’ patience was running thin. He advanced on Knuckles in a quick second, aiming the wooden handle of his blade at the echidna’s temple. The hit connected and Knuckles fell like dead weight to the floor, completely knocked out.

Mephiles clicked his tongue and stepped over the echidna. “Echidna is okay but just not really what I’m into, and any kind of canine is just repulsive,” Mephiles cut his eyes over at the fear struck fox that was cowering on the couch.

Mephiles reached and grabbed Tails by his ear and placed the pocket knife up to his neck. “If you move or do anything threatening, I’ll cut him from the top of his head to the end of his tails,” he spoke slowly to Sonic who was now standing erect, ready to do anything to protect his brother.

“Don’t worry about your boyfriend coming to aid you. He’s down… he’s not dead yet but I’m sure he’s wishing he was right about now…”

“…You know, From the moment I saw you, I was tempted… but I had a meal already waiting for me and I’ve never been one to get greedy. When you stuck your nose in my business, I knew what I had to do. You city people have a way of calling the authorities over every little thing and I knew given the chance, that’s exactly what you’d do. Don’t you know I have every person in Hill County wrapped around my finger? You calling the local police was just a waste of time. They’d never believe you and I’m sure you found that out.”

Mephiles yanked Tails by his ears and pulled him across the room in that moment. He opened Knuckles’ hall closet and shoved the fox inside, locking the door. Tails banged on the closet’s walls, crying in hysterics.

“So,” Mephiles shrugged his shoulders. “Now it’s just me and you.”

:::

Mephiles moved in quick strides, advancing on Sonic. The younger hedgehog was ready for it, though. He raised his leg and kicked with all the force he had within. It sent Mephiles flying across the room and hitting the floor in a loud and painful landing. Mephiles’ gripped loosened on the pocketknife as he met the hardwood flooring which caused for his knife to go skidding across the room to Chaos knows where. Sonic lunged on Mephiles a second later, holding him down to pound punches into his chest. The older hedgehog was becoming winded from the force but eventually mustered up enough strength to throw Sonic off him. Sonic went sliding and the action only stopped when he hit his head on the corner of the hall.

“Ah!”

“Hmph,” Mephiles sounded in satisfaction as he hurriedly crawled over to Sonic, straddling the hedgehog. He placed his hands around Sonic’s throat, squeezing as hard as he could. Sonic’s hands met his own, grasping and scratching at Mephiles’ grip to loosen. It only got tighter.

“I’ll give it to you, hedgehog. You are a fighter,” Mephiles whispered. “But more than that… you’re beautiful. Even now as the life leaves your eyes.”

Mephiles then leaned down and began to forcefully press his lips to Sonic’s in a perverted lip lock. As the younger hedgehog gasped for air, the older man slipped his tongue in his mouth. Sonic began to whine and buck in an effort to remove him but Mephiles wouldn’t budge. Thinking quickly, Sonic clamped down on the invading muscle as hard as he could with his teeth. This caused Mephiles to jump back and began to grab at his tongue, checking the damage.

“You bit me,” Mephiles stated as he observed the blood that transferred to his fingers.

Sonic used that moment to tackle the older hedgehog to the ground. Sonic hovered over Mephiles, taking the man’s head and slamming it into the floor. This gave him enough time to stall the older man while he searched for the pocketknife that had to be somewhere in the room. As Sonic hurriedly glanced around, a glint of silver sparkled in the corner of his eye. He made his way over to it. Mephiles saw this and he scrambled towards the blade just a bit faster than the other, being the one to put hands on it first.

“It’s almost unfair. This won’t be much of a fight anymore,” Mephiles commented as he quickly slashed Sonic down the side of his right arm.

Sonic used his left hand to press on the wound in an effort to alleviate the pain. “Chaos!” 

Mephiles moved closer, slashing his knife in Sonic’s vicinity. The blue hedgehog quickly backed away at each failed swing that just barley missed him. Sonic was knocking over vases and furniture as he moved backwards across the room. When Sonic noticed he was coming close to backing himself in a corner, his eyes started darting around and his mind started to overflow with solutions to get out of the situation without further injury. Sonic allowed Mephiles to come slightly in his personal space. And that’s all he needed. Sonic lifted a blue leg and kicked Mephiles right in his groin. The kick was hard enough to send the man falling on his side, clutching at his private area. He began to struggle to breathe as he was thrown into a coughing fit. Sonic stood up and moved in close to Mephiles, watching as the man tried to miserably recover from the blow.

“You’re absolutely nothing without this, huh?” Sonic laughed bitterly as he kicked the fallen pocketknife away from Mephiles’ reach like a soccer ball. He reached for a ceramic lamp on Knuckles’ coffee table and raised it threateningly in front of Mephiles’ face.

“You bastard! You d-don’t… have the balls. You’re weak… just like when you ran from me,” Mephiles forced out through coughs and labored breathing. “You’re weak… just like Silver and the many that came before him. And when I’m finally killing you… I’ll make the fox watch-”

Sonic raised the lamp in his hands and brought it down hard on Mephiles’ face. Repeatedly. Each time the lamp made contact, a sickening crack echoed throughout the room.

“You,” _crack_. “son,” _crack_. “of,” _crack_. “a,” _crack_. “bitch!”

As the hits never let up, Mephiles’ struggle gradually ended. He eventually succumbed to his injuries while he laid there under Sonic with a busted, bleeding skull. Sonic continued to hit the man in his face out of pure adrenaline and anger until the ceramic broke into pieces from the force. Sonic tossed the remainder of the lamp to floor. He panted heavily, trying to gain back his breath. When he did, he peered down at Mephiles’ face, noticing the man’s eyes were still open but there was absolutely no life left in them.

In that moment, loud pounding of fists on a door forced Sonic’s eyes away from Mephiles’ empty stare. The hedgehog quickly made his way over to the closet and unlocked it, tightly embracing Tails as soon as he laid hands on the shivering fox.

“Chaos,” Sonic whispered as he pulled away and inspected Tails’ neck and ears.

“I’m fine, Sonic! I’m okay!”

Sonic took Tails by the hand and practically dragged the fox along with him as they crossed the room towards Knuckles’ body. Sonic knelt down and checked the echidna’s pulse. “Thank Chaos, he’s still breathing. You stay here with him okay? And call an ambulance!”

The blue hedgehog ran outside and began to search around the front yard of the home. “Shadow? Shadow!”

“Here… I’m over here,” came a weak, labored response. Sonic scrambled to the side of the house and fell to his knees beside the black hedgehog. His eyes blew wide at the butcher’s knife sticking out of Shadow’s midsection. Sonic went to remove it until Shadow slapped his hand away.

“No! No… just leave it… i-it’s better that way… keeps the blood in.”

Sonic pulled his shirt over his head and held it against the wound. He wrapped his arms tightly around Shadow, trying to keep him warm. “Help’s on the way, okay? I’m going to stay here with you. You’re going to be okay,” he stated in a soft voice.

In the distance, Sonic could already make out the sound of ambulance sirens. He could even see the flashing lights on the horizon. In response to this, Sonic hugged Shadow closer, whispering attentively.

“Just hold on a little bit longer. You’re going to be okay; we all are. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently Sally is a hybrid; squirrel/chipmunk. I initially referred to her as a squirrel in this chapter but changed it to chipmunk after I googled, lol. So, yeah. I may just edit it and refer to her as a "mobian"...
> 
> //: After listening to the few of you in the comments, I've decided to add one more chapter. It will be up soon to conclude this story. Leave your comments and thoughts for me below!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!

“I still think about it. I mean, it’s hard not to. Just imagine the worst thing that could possibly happen to you… happen,” Sonic commented as he watched the heavy rainfall pitter patter against the windowpane.

Across the room from the blue hedgehog sat a smartly dressed rabbit woman. She tapped a pen on one of her slack clad legs. “What specifically about the situation do you find yourself thinking about most?”

“Of Silver. He was only two years younger than me. I can’t tell you how much it hurt when his family and friends were informed of his death. I really wish I could have prevented that from happening.”

“Are you still having the nightmares?”

“Not anymore. I’m slowly overcoming it all… whenever I start to feel bad, I just tell myself, ‘It’s over. He’s gone and he can’t hurt anyone else.’ That usually gets me through the tough times. Tails, my little brother, is still going through it though. It may happen only once a week now but, just two nights ago he came barging into my room, crying hysterically. He says that in his dreams, he sees either me or Shadow cut open and splayed, like we’re being dissected. And… Mephiles is standing over us.”

“You’ve made a lot of progress, Sonic. Now you’re able to say his name. Just last month you refused to speak it.”

Sonic finally looked over at his therapist. He shrugged his shoulders before smoothing out his quills. “I felt like not saying his name gave him power over me. Even in death. And that’s just not gonna happen.”

:::

Sonic had left his weekly therapy session feeling pretty content with his self. It had been four whole months since that… horrible day. It took a lot of recovery for everyone. Sonic had to attend therapy twice a week in the beginning, Tails as well. Shadow had to attend physical therapy due to the stab wound he had received.

It was a rigorous time that they all went through but they had slowly but surely started to experience life somewhat _normal_ again. The storm had let up on them, in a sense.

The blue hedgehog walked quietly along the wet, rainy sidewalks of downtown Station Square. He held his umbrella tightly in his hands as he made his way towards the small little café he always frequented when he left therapy. Blaze Donuts.

The café was special to Sonic for more reasons than the food and coffee being superb. Shortly after _that day_ , Sonic had learned that the café was one of Silver’s favorite places to study. So, visiting the place was Sonic paying his respects to Silver, so to speak. The blue hedgehog felt more comfortable to visit the café instead of the grave site. 

“Heya, Perci.”

A petite, bandicoot woman looked up from the cash register and smiled warmly when she saw Sonic shaking his umbrella off at the door. “Hi, Blue! What can I get for you this morning?”

The hedgehog approached the counter, already pulling out his wallet and handing a few bills over. “Can I get one of those?” Sonic had poked at the glass display, gesturing toward a pile of chocolate covered donuts. “And how about some donut holes? A dozen, please.”

“Gotcha,” Perci winked as she got to work.

As Sonic waited around for his order, his emerald green eyes scanned out of the glass windows of the quaint eatery. Not too far in the distance, he could make out the clock tower that stood tall in the center of North Square University. It was where Silver attended.

Just a few weeks after _that day_ , Sonic was invited to a memorial service that was held for the grey hedgehog. Sonic could so vividly remember all the tears shed at the vigil… Silver was truly loved by everyone he knew. And for his life to be so savagely taken away… disturbed Sonic. Sometimes Sonic would even keep his self up at night, thinking of the what-ifs. Like, what if he’d been killed too? What would have happened to Tails or Knuckles? What if Shadow didn’t receive aid in enough time?

Sonic glanced away from the clock tower and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “It’s over. He’s gone and he can’t hurt you or anyone else,” he murmured to his self.

“Order for Sonic!”

The blue hedgehog turned around, forcing a small smile on his face. He reached for the takeout box in the bandicoot’s hands. “Thanks, Perci. I’ll see ya next week.”

“Okay, dokey,” The bandicoot chirped as she leaned over the counter. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I put a few extra treats in there for you. Free of charge.”

Sonic smiled his real smile then, flashing a quick thumbs up as he walked out of the store.

:::

As Sonic stepped into his apartment, he was met with the sight of a tired, feeble looking Tails. Sonic frowned just slightly as he began to remove his scarf and then coat. “You okay there, bud?”

Tails had been lounging on the couch. He was cocooned in blankets and only his face was visible from the wrapped up mass. “’m fine.”

Sonic made his way toward the fox, setting the box of donuts down on the coffee table. “Another nightmare?”

“No.”

“Well,” Sonic spoke as he took a seat. “Then what’s up?”

“I haven’t had any nightmares because I haven’t been to sleep. Like at all.”

“Bud, that’s not healthy. You’ve got to get some sleep. You’ll feel better.”

“Yeah… I just didn’t want to be here alone, y’know? I was waiting until you came back. Maybe just… knowing someone is here with me will chase the bad dreams away.”

“You can try it out,” Sonic replied as he began to stand. He held out his hand. “Come on, I can tuck you in. Just like when you were a kiddo.”

The fox smiled and grasped Sonic’s hand in his. He followed the hedgehog to his bedroom and fell back onto the bed when he was in its vicinity. Tails watched as the hedgehog began to tuck the blankets tightly around his body. When Sonic finished, he turned to make way to his own room. 

“Hey, Sonic?”

The hedgehog looked over his shoulder with a lifted eye ridge.

“I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

A smile. “Don’t worry your furry, little head about it, ‘cause I’d never not be there for you.”

:::

The hours of that day ticked by rather quickly and uneventfully. That was pretty much life to Sonic at this point. Neither he nor Tails left their apartment that much anymore. Socializing with friends primarily took place via phone.

And Sonic spent most of his days wrapped up in his bed. He would occasionally read articles or stories but would mostly lay there and stare out at the city skyline through the gargantuan windows of his apartment bedroom. It was one evening, two weeks prior, that Sonic had been tapping around on his laptop when he stumbled upon an article that ran a story of Silver’s disappearance and death. It was where Sonic learned about what happened to… Mephiles after that night. It was only a few weeks after Mephiles’ death that his store had been taken down. The only thing that remained in its spot was the concrete foundation. And all the older man’s vintage items were sold to an auction. The people of Hill County wanted to give the proceeds back to Silver’s family, but they declined.

When Sonic would start to get anxiety from reliving the past, he would close his laptop and slump back on his pillows. Absentmindedly, Sonic’s green eyes would glance over his body, catching the thin, long scar on his right arm.

It was the scar Mephiles left on him when he was cut with the pocketknife.

Sonic would run his index finger over the scar, tracing it. He would forever be marked and that bothered Sonic a lot in the beginning. But slowly, he came to accept the scar for what it meant.

:::

“Hey.”

Sonic blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to see through the darkness of his bedroom. The blue hedgehog reached over at his nightstand and clicked on his lamp, wincing slightly at the brightness.

“Shadow?”

“Yeah,” The other hedgehog replied as he dropped an overnight bag to the hardwood floor.

Sonic nodded his head towards the bag, sitting up in bed. “Staying a few nights?”

“Yeah, it’s just a few things,” Shadow plopped down next to Sonic then, taking a blue hand in his. “Knuckles called me again today.”

“Did he?”

“He wanted to know if we’re still coming to visit tomorrow. He said everyone will be there.”

“Well,” Sonic sighed out as he moved his face closer to Shadow’s. “What do you think, babe? I mean, I think we should show our faces and I’m sick of locking myself away in this apartment.”

Knuckles had invited everyone to a housewarming party. After the night Mephiles was killed in his home, the echidna no longer felt comfortable there. It was like he was reliving the events of that night every day.

“Then we’ll leave out in the morning.”

“We couldn’t possibly come empty handed… maybe we could get him a new lamp? Since… well y’know,” Sonic said as he hugged his self.

“It’s okay,” Shadow responded as he patted Sonic’s back. He slowly pushed the other hedgehog by his shoulders in an effort to make him lay down. “We’ll get it tomorrow. On our way there.”

Sonic patted the spot next to him. “Lay down with me.”

Shadow obliged and Sonic reached back over to click off the light. He snuggled into the other’s chest fur, almost immediately resuming the dreamless sleep he was in before.

:::

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Sonic said in a sing song voice. The hedgehog couldn’t explain it, but he felt different that morning when he had woken up. He felt a light inside of him and he was grateful for the new day.

He very slowly lifted Shadow’s t-shirt to reveal a thin, scarred line running down the length of Shadow’s abdomen. Sonic leaned forward and pressed light kisses along the scar until the black hedgehog finally started to stir and wake from his sleepy haze. Sonic made it a point to do this every morning to make new memories for the scar instead of the… original memory of it haunting them.

“What is it, hedgehog?” Shadow groggily spoke as he began to stretch.

“Time to get up. We’ve got to get a move on. Come on… Get up, get up!”

Sonic rolled off Shadow and made his way down the hall. He stopped at Tails’ room, peeking in through the door quietly. Tails was seated at the foot of his bed, wrapped up in a cocoon with the covers.

“Hey, bud,” Sonic softly greeted as he approached. “You okay? No nightmares, I hope.” Sonic reached over and stroked Tails’ back.

“I actually slept throughout the whole night. No bad dreams,” Tails replied as he allowed a small smile to grace his lips. A second later, his ears perked up. “Are we leaving soon?”

“Yeah, get dressed and fast. I’ll heat up the donuts from yesterday for breakfast. Hopefully they’re still good,” Sonic chimed as he exited the room en route to the kitchen.

:::

It was about half an hour later that the trio were up and moving around, preparing for a long drive out to Knuckles’ new place. Tails was already seated in the backseat of Shadow’s car, tinkering around with a Rubik’s cube. Sonic had locked up his apartment and made his way out to the parking lot where Shadow had the hood of his car up, checking the oil. Sonic watched as the black hedgehog wiped off the dipstick, placed it in the oil pan and then back out a minute later to observe the level.

“Good?” Sonic asked over his shoulder.

“Yeah, looks about right,” Shadow replied as he closed the hood and patted it. Before opening the driver’s side door, Sonic cleared his throat.

“Hey, Shads?”

The black hedgehog looked up; eye ridges raised. “Yeah?”

“How about we just stay on the freeway this time? No country roads.”

Shadow’s lips twitched slightly, revealing a small almost melancholic smile. “You got it, hedgehog.”

Moments after that, the trio were making their way down the street, soon merging onto the interstate. Sonic rolled down his window, letting a sweet wind circulate through the car. He stuck his right hand out of the window then, watching as his fur ruffled against the rushing air.

And with his left hand, Sonic reached and pressed in the volume knob to cue the radio. When he did, a slow song jutted out of the speakers. It was a song Sonic didn’t know… but it sounded good to his ears.

_“… the journey’s long… and it feels so bad. I’m thinkin’ back… to the last day we had…”_

_“…old moon fades into the new, and soon I’ll be back with you… I’m nearly with you… nearly with you…”_

Sonic exhaled a breath he had been subconsciously holding. The hedgehog glanced to his left, watching as Shadow held a focused stare on the road ahead. Green eyes peered up a second later to catch Tails’ reflection in the rear view mirror. Only the fox’s ears were visible over the seat and that, for some reason, made Sonic laugh softly to his self.

Sonic finally looked back out the window then, observing the cloudless, sunny sky in that moment.

And somewhere deep inside his self… he knew that with every new day… things would be all right again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment below to let me know your thoughts. Thank you all for reading and I'll see you soon in another fic! (:

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to leave comments!


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